Well, the results are in. I have lost a total of 9.6 lbs since starting JUDDD fourteen days ago, which averages out to a whopping five pounds a week if I round up.

That may be my all-time fastest rate of loss on any diet before, including Fen-Phen. And I did it while going to multiple social events and eating all kinds of foods I enjoy within my calorie limits including ice cream sundaes with hot fudge, the occasional potato, and pasta.

Now, I'm not going to lie. There were some tough times, as I outlined in my one week review. I think people starting this WOE need to come prepared for the fact that those early days can be truly awful. But it does get better by an order of magnitude.

Of course, not all bodies are the same. Some don't experience hunger as pain, some of us do. Actual, physical, cramping pain. Perhaps this helps explain why some people need to lose fifty pounds and some people need to lose one-hundred and fifty. At any rate, the difference between hunger pains and hunger pangs has been demonstrated to me vividly over the course of this experiment. Sometimes I still experience irritation and hunger on down days and it's difficult to resist, but I don't experience pain anymore.

Even if I did, the rate of return on that investment is too high for me to give up on it. This has been amazing and I've had a few Down Days that were relatively easy.

Here are some things I've experienced:

Making peace with calorie counting. Sure, I don't like measuring and counting the calories of every little morsel that goes into my mouth but I'd have to be aware of calories on any diet to lose any appreciable weight. I know some people don't do this on up days, but I don't trust myself yet or my body. Me and my body have let me down before. So we're on probation! However, I'm at peace with it because I went to a luncheon this week during which I could only guess at the calories in the crudest way and it doesn't seem to have tripped me up at all. That was peaceful, to realize I could do the best I can, and it would probably be good enough.

Re-discovering Real Foods. There are some low-fat or low-carb products I eat because they are tasty and I have them around the house anyway. Carba Nada pasta is good enough to kill a pasta craving, so why not? Laughing Cow is actually delicious, so why not? Sugar Free Coconut Ice Cream is wonderful and refreshing, so why use the extra calories on the real thing? However, sometimes there is no substitute for the real thing. And I'm enjoying eating things that have been forbidden to me for years--like fruit! I worried that on up days I would go on a cookie bender and inhale donuts every meal. That hasn't happened. Instead, I've quite naturally chosen nourishing real foods, maybe with more fat than usual, or more carbs than usual, and an occasional treat. I like this. And I'm looking forward to clearing most of the Frankenfood out of my pantry.

Rediscovering a Love of Cooking! Because I have been on a diet for as long as I can remember, for my whole life, I've learned to make recipes that "aren't bad" but no person in their right mind would choose to eat them for a special occasion. I'm sort of excited to have the whole culinary world open to me again. I love that there are convenient and quick dinners now available to me that we enjoy, but also that I can make some new things that my husband and my guests might cherish.

Lower Grocery Bill. I guess that's to be expected when you're eating only half the time!

So, I'm absolutely going for another week. Then I need to figure out what I'm going to do at my convention in California and the mini-vacation after it. I'm actually terrified to do anything to screw up this progress, but I know I can't stir fry shirataki noodles on a down day in the hotel either. :P I'm going to have to go in armed with a plan.

In the meantime, you're stuck with me for a while longer, JUDDD Buds!

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Update: I do have a few concerns, of course. Like, what am I supposed to do now? Is the 500 cal down days only for the first two weeks and now we experiment with other calorie levels? (I'm a little worried that I'm training my body that it can only lose weight on 500 calories a day so maybe that's why people go up?) On the other hand, if it ain't broke don't fix it?

on your success! I'm so glad that this WOE/WOL is working for you! So happy to hear this!

And, FYI, there is a thread in the main lobby about doing LC in Disney, for some ideas on what to eat. I personally love their kid's snack pack, which is like apples, a yogurt, and a string cheese, I think. That with a side salad is great for one meal for me (I can't eat heavy 3 meals/day). Of course, I always eat chocolate chip cookies for brekkie at Disney, so I have to even it out somehow... I also like to get a hotel room with a fridge for leftovers and a little bit of grocery shopping. That way I can have fresh fruit, cottage cheese, pickles, cold cuts...whatever I need for those times that I'm not up for a full meal. Their meals are huge, so I usually share one with a family member. Have fun! I'm jealous...I love Disney.

__________________
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may become necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." - Miss Piggy

I gave you my thoughts before on the upcoming trip. There are a few things you can do in a hotel room if you really want to (I mean food wise! But the other is great for calorie burn and Leptin release!)

If you have a coffee pot, use it to heat up broth or brew tea that you can pour over a cup filled with ice. I always take a fold-flat, small soft sided cooler. That way If I'm out for a walk and can buy some yogurt or half and half for my coffee, I do. These days most hotels provide small refrigerators at no charge. Just call housekeeping and they will put one in your room. Or, keep your ice bucket busy at all times.

Then when you eat out, you can take leftovers back to your room if you want.

I'm sure your creative brain is going to go to work and you will do a fantastic job of not going off the cliff food wise while you are away. Even if you do, JUDD is forgiving and easy to get back to.

I've learned that a Fast-5 type schedule even every other day keeps me from gaining when on vacation.

I'll be trying that out soon. Two of my sisters are coming to California for a girl's week. We have never done this before and I'm so psyched! We'll be staying in a beautiful time share near San Diego. We are really gonna live it up and we love to eat! (Just look at the photo of me with my sisters on my profile page. It's us 3 chubby ones who will be together getting into all kinds of mischief!!! )

I hope you will find little snippets of time when you can keep in touch with us while you are on your trip. We can't wait to hear the joy of it all!

__________________Yam-Yam

"Weight loss isn't about winning a race; it's about crossing the finish line at your own pace." -Dianna Rodriguiz

Woo-hoo!! She's in for another week!! Congrats on the weight loss!! You've lost more in 2 weeks than I have in 4 months!

__________________-vanilla

"One way to begin to see how vastly indulgent we usually are is to fast. One finds out what an astonishing amount of time is spent in the planning, purchasing, preparing, eating, and cleaning up of meals."
- Elisabeth Elliot

Steph, beautiful. You know, you've been so wildly diligent that it might be worth it to fall off the horse for a moment or two while on your holiday. If that does happen, you'll learn how easy it is to climb back on with Juddd, which goes a long way toward losing that o-my-god-I-screwed-up-and-now-I'm-gonna-gain-300-pounds fear.
You won by starting. You've won every day since. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Steph, beautiful. You know, you've been so wildly diligent that it might be worth it to fall off the horse for a moment or two while on your holiday. If that does happen, you'll learn how easy it is to climb back on with Juddd, which goes a long way toward losing that o-my-god-I-screwed-up-and-now-I'm-gonna-gain-300-pounds fear.

Here in Drayvania, where romance novels are sometimes written, we call the other thing that you can do in a hotel room research

__________________-vanilla

"One way to begin to see how vastly indulgent we usually are is to fast. One finds out what an astonishing amount of time is spent in the planning, purchasing, preparing, eating, and cleaning up of meals."
- Elisabeth Elliot

WTG Steph! Of course, well written, and I fully agree with what you wrote (i.e. it rang true of my experience as well).

re: DD calories-- I'd say, go to the calculator and see what you can do. My calculator wants me to do about 430 or so on DD, but I generally hang out around 500... sometimes less, sometimes 700.

A few people have written themselves a sticky note with the 20, 25, 30, 35% etc, so you know on a DD what your levels are, and if you eat a bit more, you know you're still in a WL level. I do this too.

re: at a convention-- I had one in May, just 6 weeks after I started. I can say from experience that it's tricky, for sure. But do-able, if you put your mind to it.

Down days are pretty easy-- don't eat much all day, maybe some fruit and an egg for breakfast, salad for lunch, and go light at dinner.

Up days, just try to keep it in check. You might not lose over the course of the trip, but you can try not to gain.

AND if you do gain (as I said, my May trip was kinda a fail re: diet. ) it's REALLY not that hard to lose the few pounds, and get back in the groove.

I am SO happy to read this (and not at all surprised). I think I'm even happier about how your relationship with food is normalizing than I am about the weight (although I know the weight is also very, very important). It is so wonderful to read time after time about people choosing nourishing foods in 'real' portion sizes within just a short time of starting. Treats get relegated back to where they belong--the once in a while, enjoy it for all it's worth, but not all the time, TREAT.

I think a little skepticism is a good thing when it comes to our bodies and their reactions to food, at least at first. But you WILL learn to trust yourself to make good choices, and to realize that even a blown DD isn't cause to throw in the towel and drown your sorrows in a box of Ho-Ho's. You just get right back on the bus and keep on with the journey.

One good thing about your trip, having been faithfully Juddding for 3 weeks prior, you WILL have the benefit of the sirtuin enzymes along for the ride. And that will help both to help reign in the free for all desires, and to keep things from going totally off the rails while you are away. Getting right back into rotations when you get home will drop whatever is gained while you are gone very quickly.

If you can, make your travel days DD's. Plan your UD's as well. If you know dinner is going to be super fantastic, eat lightly (or not at all) for breakfast, and stick with a salad and some lean protein for lunch. Pay close attention to your hunger signals and stop when full. Eat only what looks absolutely fabulous to you, and thoroughly enjoy it without guilt. Don't just put it in your mouth because it's on your plate (or on a buffet). And remember to stay hydrated, especially if adult beverages will be involved in your celebrations.

LOL at the research!

You are doing GREAT!

__________________
Tina--wife to my dh for 24 years and mom to 4 great kids. JUDDD reboot to lose the nearly 20 pounds gained in the past 2 years.

Soo very happy for you~ And what an awsome loss!!! I am very pleased that you are still with us and i love to read your post.. i look forward to the up and comming weeks as you lose those unwanted pounds and learn to love and respect not only food but yourself in the process Sooo happy~

__________________ Kimberly

1991 Highest Weight 296#
1995 Low Fat 190#
2012 225#Job change.
2012 lost 60# on JUDDD. 166 N Lw
2015 185# Depression.
4/1/2015 NK new Woe. @ 185
My whole life has been a battle BUT I always get back up when it knocks me down.. Never give up!!!

I'm sure your creative brain is going to go to work and you will do a fantastic job of not going off the cliff food wise while you are away. Even if you do, JUDD is forgiving and easy to get back.

Hi Steph,

I had a three week away-from-home-not-in-control-of-my-life that ended on Monday. When I got on the scales, it showed a 5-lb. gain. Two DDs later, the 5 lbs. are gone. I was surprised how easy it really was to get back.

As the experts here keep saying, this WOE is very forgiving and I'm a believer "Life" does happen - but this is the first time it did not send me reeling backwards, as so many diets in the past have done.

Let me preface this post by saying that never in the history of my life on earth have I ever willingly reached for veggies and dip. On such rare occasions as such things were foisted upon me, I would find a way of politely choking it down before seeking out something more substantial and tasty.

When I was doing a low-fat diet, I never ate veggies in dip because most raw veggies are gross to me and most low-fat dip is also gross.

When I was doing a low-cal diet, I never ate veggies in dip because there was no way I would be willing to spend the calories on craptastic dip on a bitter radish. (In fact, I would have to say that low-cal diets mostly discouraged me from eating salads b/c I didn't ever want to spend the calories on dressing.)

When I was doing a low-carb diet, I never ate veggies in dip because I didn't want to spend the carbs on it when I could eat an egg or meat or some frankenfood instead.

Since starting JUDDD I have discovered that while certain raw veggies are still gross to me, others are rather pleasant. Particularly cucumbers. And on an up day, I really don't care if the dip is low-carb or low-fat or even low-cal.

Today I was upstairs and there was a tasty looking yogurt dill dip in my fridge that was intended to go with pork rinds. But I thought, "I bet this would taste good with these slices of raw eggplant...and maybe cucumber."

So--without a gun aimed at my head or even the food police monitoring my every bite--I reached for the veggies. And I ate them. And it was good.

What a great loss, Steph! Whoo hoo! Congrats I think we were all waiting with baited breath to hear this report! lol!

Just like you, I know when I started JUDDD I just marveled at all the "bad" things I could eat and STILL LOSE WEIGHT! I'm glad you get to enjoy ice cream and not have to stress during social functions. Nothing on the table is off limits on JUDDD!

You've been a real trooper getting through those tough DD and hunger, and we are so proud of you! They will probably get easier as you go along, but always be gentle with yourself when/if a tough one rears up again. For some of us, Tom and/or Ovulation can be a challenge, so a heads-up. You're gonna keep doing great!

I understand about making peace with calorie counting. It was a drag at times, but it sure did work. And it made JUDDD work optimally for me. I just tried to look at it as a tool to help me get where I wanted, and eventually in maintenance I was able to start "eye-balling" portions and not really counting so strictly... finding I could get away with not counting vco, veggies, etc. And even having some FD (free days) with no counting! So just some things you might have to look forward to in the future. I can't remember which jb always said she didn't end up in her current weight by being able to trust her appetite and portions and "winging it" (something like that) so she'd stuck to counting calories because it did work.

That's another thing that amazed me about JUDDD - when you mentioned that you naturally chose more nourishing foods. I sort of dove into the carbs head-first (including lots of refined crap which was dangerous for me) but I found that as I went along it seemed to get out of my system, and my body regulated itself. I also began to choose the healthier fare more often, and you and I are not alone in this. JUDDD has a way of improving our relationship to foods, carbs, and with ourself.

And whoo hoo on being able to make any recipe you want! That's so exciting and well... handy. Nothing is off limits to you, so have fun in the kitchen.

__________________
Started JUDDD 10/12/11 after LC.MAINTENANCE since 11/12/11, & have lost more weight. I shake things up all the time with my version of Pirate Jenny's MUDDD, my "Fast 5" & other IF. ...low-moderate fat....and eating "healthy" foods 75+% of the time which lets me have real life and indulgences too I've reached my goals, improved my health & appearance, and enjoy my lifetime woe!

Soo very happy for you~ And what an awsome loss!!! I am very pleased that you are still with us and i love to read your post.. i look forward to the up and comming weeks as you lose those unwanted pounds and learn to love and respect not only food but yourself in the process Sooo happy~

Kimberly: I just checked out the pictures on your profile page! Muffin top gone. Check! You look amazing! Look at you! Woooooo-Hooooooo!!!

(Sorry, Steph, if this is a thread jack. I want everyone to see Kim's photos!)

What a great post! Being a newbie, I have been following your progress and I am so thrilled to hear that you are totally changing your perspective on food AND you've lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks! Ammmmazing!

Keep up the good work and with some thought, I am sure you will do just fine at your convention!